Cartels Likely Behind Murder of Mexican Politician

25 Sep 2014

MCALLEN, Texas — As the Mexican government continues to make assurances about the improving safety in their country, it seems they are not even able to protect a member of their ruling elite who was kidnapped and his body torched.

On Tuesday, authorities found the body of Federal Representative Gabriel Gomez Michel, who had been kidnapped the day before, according to information released by the government of Jalisco.

Gomez’s body along with that of his driver had been torched inside the SUV that they were riding on their way to work. Gomez represented the Mexican State of Jalisco. This murder marks the first time in recent years that a federal representative has been murdered in a country known for the murders of reporters, local and state politicians. Gomez was a member of the Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI), the current ruling party in Mexico which has a long history of corruption. The PRI is the party that current President Enrique Peña Nieto belongs to.

Since 2006, Mexico has been the scene of a fierce drug war where military forces have been trying to fight back against drug cartels that have similar capabilities. According to the reporting of a Mexican radio station, Jalisco’s attorney general said the crime was probably linked to criminal gangs, the new term used in Mexico to refer to drug cartels.

The state of Jalisco has various drug cartels operating in the area since the state has a major port on the Pacific coast that allows for easy smuggling of methamphetamine precursors into the country through shipping containers.